More than 5.
5 million workers all over world are potentially exposed to different kinds of hazardous drugs.
They may be exposed to a drug throughout its life cycle which includes its manufacture, transport and distribution, use in health care or home care settings and waste disposal.
These workers include shipping and receiving personnel, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, nursing personnel, physicians, operating room personnel, environmental services personnel, research laboratory personnel, and workers in veterinary practices where these drugs are used.
With the use of antineoplastic drugs expanding into other specialties, the number of workers who are not properly trained in their safe handling has increased over the past few years.
There are so many evidences related to occupational exposure in health care workers.
Medical staffs that prepare and administer hazardous drugs have higher indications of mutagenic substances in their urine compared with non-exposed workers.
This evidence is supported by numerous studies examining urine mutagenicity, chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges, and other endpoints in studies of pharmacists and nurses who handle these drugs.
Surveys have associated workplace exposures to hazardous substances with minor health effects such as hair loss, headaches, irritation, hypersensitivity, as well as adverse reproductive outcomes including infertility, spontaneous abortions, and congenital malformations and abnormalities.
A recent study documented learning disabilities in the children of nurses who had handled antineoplastic drugs during the course of their employment.
Reports have addressed a correlation between cancer occurrence and healthcare workers' exposed to these drugs.
A significantly increased risk of leukemia has been also reported among oncology nurses.
Healthcare organizations suggest that the adverse effects found in many of these studies occurred because workers do not properly adopt safe handling guidelines promoted by them.
However, these studies throw a light on the significant adverse outcomes in routinely exposed workers dealing with hazardous drugs.
5 million workers all over world are potentially exposed to different kinds of hazardous drugs.
They may be exposed to a drug throughout its life cycle which includes its manufacture, transport and distribution, use in health care or home care settings and waste disposal.
These workers include shipping and receiving personnel, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, nursing personnel, physicians, operating room personnel, environmental services personnel, research laboratory personnel, and workers in veterinary practices where these drugs are used.
With the use of antineoplastic drugs expanding into other specialties, the number of workers who are not properly trained in their safe handling has increased over the past few years.
There are so many evidences related to occupational exposure in health care workers.
Medical staffs that prepare and administer hazardous drugs have higher indications of mutagenic substances in their urine compared with non-exposed workers.
This evidence is supported by numerous studies examining urine mutagenicity, chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges, and other endpoints in studies of pharmacists and nurses who handle these drugs.
Surveys have associated workplace exposures to hazardous substances with minor health effects such as hair loss, headaches, irritation, hypersensitivity, as well as adverse reproductive outcomes including infertility, spontaneous abortions, and congenital malformations and abnormalities.
A recent study documented learning disabilities in the children of nurses who had handled antineoplastic drugs during the course of their employment.
Reports have addressed a correlation between cancer occurrence and healthcare workers' exposed to these drugs.
A significantly increased risk of leukemia has been also reported among oncology nurses.
Healthcare organizations suggest that the adverse effects found in many of these studies occurred because workers do not properly adopt safe handling guidelines promoted by them.
However, these studies throw a light on the significant adverse outcomes in routinely exposed workers dealing with hazardous drugs.